Honesty and Trust
by Centroides
Summary: Garrison trusts Chief until he slips up?
1. Chapter 1

**Honesty and Trust**

**Chapter 1**

Garrison was tired. They had come back from a very stressful mission just four days ago. He knew the men were tired as well but it could not be helped. The Colonel had told him there were no other teams available and the agent had been taken into custody. It was not known if he had been the target or caught in a sweep. It was up to the team to find him, rescue him and return him to England. When he arrived at the Estate where he and his men were billeted the sky was still covered with dark clouds. At least it had stopped raining but the wind was still strong. He hurried from the jeep into the building and once he had removed his coat he headed upstairs to the room the cons shared. Actor was reading and Casino and Goniff were playing poker.

"Where's Chief?" he asked.

"Outside, as usual," was Casino snarled reply.

"Go get him. We have a mission." That went over like a lead balloon, both the order to get Chief and the news there was a mission. Casino left muttering something about a leash. When the two returned he began the briefing. Because of the fear that the agent had been singled out it was decided by the brass that they were to have no contact with the Resistance. This was only a precaution but it made the mission so much harder and riskier. There were a lot of complaints about the timing of the mission and the weather and the lack of help, and, and, and …. Finally Garrison told them that was all and to get ready. They grumbled but did as they were required.

The trip to the airfield was quiet. The wind had persisted so the flight over the channel was bumpy. They were all tossed around quite a bit. Finally the pilot announced the drop zone and they prepare to jump. Garrison told them because of the wind they were to all jump one right after the other so they hopefully would land fairly close together.

Actor was the first out and the first one down. He had a hard time with the chute so by the time he had it collapsed he had seen Goniff land and be dragged about twenty feet through the wet grass of the meadow by the high winds. Actor ran to help the smaller man who was now wet and bruised.

Casino landed about five hundred yards away. Fortunately he hit the ground just as the chute hit the trees surrounding the field, thus stopping it. He struggled out of the harness then spent about twenty minutes trying to get the chute untangled from the branches.

Chief was blown further down the field out of sight of the others. As he wrestled with the chute a branch that had been weakened by the wind finally gave way. Chief, still in the harness could not get out of the way in time. All he could do was use his arms to try to protect his head and to duck. The limb that was six inches thick struck his left forearm. The weight of the limb shoved him to the ground pinning him there. The pain lit his arm on fire, fire that raced up his arm, past his shoulder and right up to his head. He blacked out .

When he could think again he forced himself to shove the branch far enough away with his other hand that he could struggle to his feet. The pain was still intense but he had a job to do. He cut the straps to the chutes and let it drop. He tried to cut the chute free but the motion only increased the pain in his arm. Very carefully he placed his left hand inside his coat pocket. That helped enough so that he could finish the job on the chute. He had just managed to stuff it under a rock when Casino arrived. Together they headed back towards the others. Garrison had landed east of Chief and with his experience had had less trouble with the wind. He was angry. He had managed to get his bearings by the time he reached Actor and Goniff. They were about fifty miles off target and there were no roads. They would have to walk.

Walking over the rough ground jarred Chief's arm so he took to supporting it with his right. Fortunately it was dark so no one noticed. There was nothing to be done but put up with it. Just before dawn Chief noticed a shepherd's hut where they could sleep. He offered to take the first watch. Four hours later when Casino arrived to relive him the pain had subsided to a dull ache. He had found a stream and had laid down beside it and soaked his arm. That had helped. Unfortunately it had also chilled the rest of him. He was glad to get in to the shelter and next to the fire. Garrison was asleep so he carefully crawled into Casino's recently abandoned blanket and curled up. He pulled the blanket over his head to conserve his body heat but with the pain and the cold he could not get to sleep.

By late afternoon Goniff had opened the rations and made some coffee. Chief passed on the food but took the coffee and went outside. By staying under the blanket he had finally managed to get warm but now he wanted to see if he could get to the stream and soak his arm again. He found Garrison and told him to go in. He would keep watch until they were ready to leave. Once he knew he was alone he headed for the stream. When the others emerged Chief was back at his post the pain once again manageable. By the end of the second night they reached the place where they should have landed. Garrison sent Chief to get a car.

Chief had his doubts how he would manage with only one arm but he was successful. Driving at night with one arm was do-able. He just hoped he would not have to drive while being chased. High speeds while trying to elude bullets and capture was a two handed job.

They were less than a mile from town when Chief noticed the cars stopped ahead. He pulled to the side of the road. The five men sat and watched for a moment. Casino leaned forward and said, "If it's a check point, why not just takem out?"

Silence for a time then Garrison said quietly, "I don't want any dead bodies to call suspicion to the area."

"Why not? We ditch the bodies and while they're out looking for the sentries, we could be in and out with the agent. "

Casino's idea made sense except for one thing. They did not know where the agent was being held. "Casino," said their leader, "you're on me. We'll go see what's ahead. If there's gunfire, wait two minutes then take off." Fortunately he did not wait for a reply. The two men left the car and walked ahead. They were back in two minutes. "It's a check point", said Garrison. "We're almost there so we'll walk. Keep your eyes open for an abandoned building we can work out of." It did not take them long to find an old barn. Once they were settled Garrison decided he and Actor would go into town after dawn and ask a few questions.

"Make sure you bring back some real food," demanded Goniff.

Fortunately for Chief there were two days of idle waiting until Actor finally found the information they needed. The agent was not there. He had been moved just hours before but no one knew where. Garrison cursed their luck. If the pilot had been on course they could have had the job completed. Instead it would take them another day or so to find him and affect a rescue. Actor, ever sensible, reminded Garrison that the winds had been strong and the pilot had had difficulty keeping the plane in the air much less on course. Garrison knew he was right but it still did not improve his mood.

The team spent the next four days chasing shadows. Finally they had taken matters into their own hands. After kidnapping and drugging a high ranking German officer, they finally had their answer. The agent had been killed before the team had arrived. The Germans had hoped by keeping that fact quiet, they might capture his rescuers. If the gorillas had tried to bluff their way in, they would have been caught up in the trap. Their caution had saved them. Rather than being glad of that, Garrison was furious that they had been traipsing all over France for nothing. They would wait until after dark then make their way to the coast for pick up.

Actor had arrived back from town and had brought some bread and cheese. He began tossing the hunks of bread to the cons. Chief saw one coming his way and shifted slightly to catch it in his right hand. At the same time Casino, who had been slightly behind him saw the same piece. He decided he wanted it so stepped up to reach over and get it. In doing so he bumped Chief's left elbow quite hard. This sent a shock of pain down the Indian's arm enough that he dropped his right hand instinctively grabbing his injured arm. Garrison saw the move and knew there was trouble. The nudge did not look hard enough to have caused the reaction. He moved over to Chief and demanded to see the arm. Chief, still in a lot of pain, wanted to refuse but Garrison grabbed the front of his jacket as he tried to back up.

"Let's see it. Pull up your sleeve."


	2. Chapter 2

**Honesty and Trust**

**Chapter 2**

Still gasping from the pain, Chief complied. The arm, from wrist to elbow was discoloured. It had initially been swollen but by soaking it in cold water the swelling had gone down considerably.

"When did that happen?" There was no answer except the sullen stare.

"I want to know now!" Garrison was irate. He could not think of anything they had done lately that could have done that kind of damage. The bruise didn't look fresh so it had to be a while ago. "Was it when we landed?" he demanded.

Chief did not trust his voice so he nodded.

"What the HELL were you thinking? That it would magically get better on it's own? Do I have to treat you like a child, check up on you all the time?"

That hit a raw nerve. "I've been looking out for myself since I was little. I don't need you or anyone else checking up on me!" His tone of voice matched Garrison's.

"Well apparently you do!"

"I can handle it," was the snarled reply.

"How? How the hell would you've carried anything if you had to?"

"I would've managed! Sides nothing you could've done about it." Pain and exhaustion fuelled his fire as frustration and exhaustion had Garrison's.

Then Garrison fired the other barrel "How are we supposed to operate as a team if I can't trust you? I have to know every man can do their job. I have to be able to trust they can do what ever I ask. How am I supposed to trust you if you don't tell me when you have a problem.

And when were you planning on telling me? Ever? I would have found out sooner or later. I am giving you a direct order. From now on you will report to me every injury or illness no matter how small. YOU GOT THAT, MISTER?"

On the outside the mask was in place, he showed no emotion, but on the inside Chief was crumbling. The old woman's words came to him. 'Don't let them know. Don't let them ever know that they can hurt you.' This was her advise when the other children teased him. He had a lot of practice.

Chief also heard other voices. Garrison's "can't trust you " was echoed by the teachers at the Indian School as they chained him to his cot after he had tried to run away. Those same feelings of being so small and worthless washed over him, drowning him. He tried to fight the feeling but fighting the continuous pain, the cold, exhaustion and the fact the attack was coming from the first man he had dared to trust prevented the anger from getting a foot hold. He had seen the Sheriff chain up a dog and beat it until it could not move. It had never been right after that. It walked with a limp and cringed when ever anyone came near it. That was how he felt now.

It was at that point Garrison raised his hand to run it through his hair. In doing so it passed in front of his face so he did not see the young man flinch at the raised hand. Chief had fully expected to be hit. The fact he had not been able to prevent that from showing made him feel even worse.

The other cons had seen the upbraiding. There was no way they could have missed it. The room was small and Garrison had Chief cornered. His raised voice had filled the room.

Goniff hated arguments. He hated being yelled at but listening to some one else get dumped on was worse. Chief had started out defending himself and then had fallen quiet. To Goniff this means pain. Chief was his friend and here he was unable to help. He wanted to go outside so he would not have to hear but was afraid to move for fear Garrison would turn on him so he turned his back and tried to look busy.

Casino liked nothing better than to ride the Indian but this was excessive. The Warden had made his point but he kept on and on. Casino was cold and tired and after standing four hours on watch wanted nothing more than to sleep. Why didn't the guy Just Shut Up. He stood, arms crossed over his chest, ignoring the bread he had caught.

Actor was having a hard time breathing. He had been wheezing on his way back to town. He was tired. He knew that Garrison was frustrated by the lack of success and how the mission had dragging on and on but he had now gone overboard. He was tempted to step in to stop it but that would be a direct threat to the man's authority. He would have to wait and get him alone. Hopefully Chief would be all right until then. He watched the younger man out of the corner of his eye and saw him flinch. It hurt him so deeply and he was on his feet before he realized. He checked himself before he went any further.

Garrison had his back to Actor so he missed the movement. He continued his tirade. "What you did was stupid. You endangered yourself and every one else on the team. I expect better of you. " Garrison turned and began to move away. Chief wanted to get away, to run. He started to walk to the door but Garrison was still not finished. "Where the hell you think your going?"

Chief did not trust his voice so he remained standing with his back to Garrison, his body tense. He could almost feel the physical blow coming.

"Answer me!"

Chief turned back without a word, avoiding Garrison eye, and went back to the corner. He wanted out but he was whipped. He knew now why the dog had not tried to get away. He sat slumped in the corner cradling his arm. It hurt like hell but not as much as the pain in his soul.

He kept his eyes on the ground. He did not want to see the accusing stares on the others faces. He had seen Goniff turn his back on him. He had also seen Actor stand up wanting to join in the attack. When the leader of the wild dog pack turned on a member, they all turned. Usually they drove the offender out of their territory to die. He had watched one pack when one of the yearlings had been injured. The rest of the pack had turned on it and harassed and harried it until it had died. One by one or in pairs they had come and attacked it. It could not hunt and they would not feed it. It had either starved or bled to death. Was this to be his fate? He wished they would just drive him out or kill him and get it over with.

"Actor! See to his arm." The anger still evident in his voice. Garrison went out to stand watch.

Actor was glad of the excuse to come over to Chief. "Let me see your arm." He tried to say it gently but his sore throat made the words come out gruffly.

Chief had pulled his sleeve back down and had his arm cradled in his lap. He had his knees pulled up, the only way he could protect himself. There was no reaction to Actors words and he knew, in Chief's present state, he could not force him. He waited. Still no reaction so he suggested he at least use a sling. Lacking anything else he pulled off his undershirt and fashioned one. He took it over and with only minimal co operation from Chief he managed to put it in place.

Eventually they reached the coast and signalled the sub. The whole time Chief did not speak and would not eat. Once on the sub Chief kept himself apart as much as possible in the limited space. He feigned sleep when ever possible so he would not have to look at anyone. He hated being confined in a sub on a good day but now was pure torture. This was the perfect time for them to turn on him. There was nowhere to run. He was as good as dead. The waiting was worse. Why didn't they get it over with. There was no way he could sleep. His arm hurt, his head and heart were pounding in double time and his mouth was dry but he was afraid to move. Two and a half hours of pure torture until they had docked. He tried to stay away from Garrison and the others but as they disembarked Garrison ended up behind Chief. Having the man behind him only caused his already tense shoulder and back muscles to tighten even further. The tension only aggravated his headache. He tried to turn slightly so his good arm was towards him but that did not ease the fear.

At the hospital the doctor checked his arm and admitted him. He would have to stay at least over night for observation and a cast put on his arm. When the others left Chief was finally alone. He tried to relaxed, tried to release all the tension of the last two weeks. He was alone again. All his life he had been alone and had accepted it. He had no choice.

Now for the first time in his life he had been part of a team and as much as he tried to deny it, he liked the feeling of belonging. That was gone now. Even if they allowed him to stay on the team he was no longer part of it. What was he to do? Being on the outside of a team meant he could not count on their protection or help in times of trouble. He had dealt with that in prison and had been injured many times. At least there they did not have guns or grenades. War was worse. There was no way he could survive. What choice did he have?


	3. Chapter 3

Honesty and Trust

**Chapter 3**

Actor knew he had to do some thing. Chief was in trouble and only Garrison could fix it. He also could only talk to their leader if he was alone. This did not happen until they were back at the Estate. He knocked at his door and waited for an answer before entering.

"Warden, there is something I would like to talk to you about if you have a minute?"

Garrison looked up from the report he was just about to write. "Can it wait? I want to get this done."

Actor entered and sat in the chair across from Garrison. "No, it cannot." He sat down and waited until Garrison had put down his pen. "You know, Warden, trust is like a spring. It has a lot of give. You can stretch it and it snaps back to its original shape."

Garrison had had discussions with the well educated con man before and knew this was leading somewhere. He was too tired to figure it out so he let the man continue.

"But like a spring, even the strongest trust can be destroyed. You stretch it too far and it stays, it does not come back. A spring or a trust that has been stretched too far becomes not only useless but in some cases, dangerous." He paused to see if Garrison was following. "You expect it to be there, to work as it always has but," he shook his head. Actor watched the young blonde before him. The man was intelligent but he was tired. He could see it in his posture and in his eyes. It would have been better to have waited until tomorrow when the man had had some sleep but Actor was afraid Chief could not wait.

"Chief is a loner. It is most likely he has been betrayed in the past or has never had the opportunity to form strong bonds of trust. When we arrived here he trusted no one, not even you. Possibly, even more so you, since you are the authority figure and he does have a problem with authority. Somewhere along the line in our training or on one of our missions …" He trailed off hoping Garrison would fill in the blanks of which he was curious. When nothing was forth coming he continued. "Chief has started to trust you. Usually I am the one they begin to trust," Actor smiled ever so slightly, "since that is the business I am in."

Garrison matched the smile.

Encouraged, the con man continued. "I understand completely why you were upset when you discovered what he had done. You were entirely right. He could have endangered any or all of us. Because of that, talking to the boy was necessary but the severity of the attack probably has done some damage. An injured man is vulnerable." Actor paused to let that sink in._ "_If you wish to regain the trust and prevent any hard feelings you should act fast though it might be too late even now."

Not wishing to belabour the point or force the Lt to admit he was in the wrong, Actor took his leave.

Garrison realized that Actor was right. He had been too hard. He had taken out his frustrations on the youngest and injured member of his team. As much as he needed to write out his report and as much as he wanted to sleep he had better go see Chief. He put away his reports and grabbing his hat and jacket he quick left the building. Watching from the library window, Actor smiled in satisfaction. The Lt. would do the right thing. Caring about the men they led was the sign of a good leader. This one was shaping up to be a good one.

When Craig got to the hospital he checked Chief's room but it was empty. The sun room was occupied but not by Chief. He headed back towards the nurses station when he happened to glance into one of the rooms along the hall. Two steps past he though he recognized the figure at the window. He turned around and walked back stopping at the door. He was watching the man's face so he did not miss the fear and then the shame that showed before the mask slipped into place and he turned back to the window. Actor was right. He had made a mess of it.

Garrison knew it was easier to command when he had his men's respect. He had known gaining their respect would be hard but by doing the training with them and then the fight with Wheeler, he thought, had gained him their respect.

Command by fear meant sooner or later the men would run rather than fight. Chief had been a runner. He had seen the fear in his eyes. Would he run now?

He walked over and stood beside him. "Chief, I would like to talk to you. Do you feel up to taking a walk outside?" The room they were in was occupied so they could not talk there. He hoped being outside would help him relax. He waited for an answer. There was no reaction at first and when he was about to offer another suggestion the answer came.

"No."

The word was quiet and without inflection but to Garrison it was a slap in the face. He was stunned. The young man in front of him turned and walked away. Now it was Garrison's turn to stand looking out the window. What was he to do now? He turned and walked out into the hall. There was no sign of Chief. He was not in his room either. Garrison had to admit defeat.

The next morning Garrison returned to the hospital. Chief was to be discharged and Garrison thought he would have a chance to talk to him on the trip back to the estate. Chief had had other ideas.

When Garrison got to the nurses station they informed him that the patient had disappeared. He had left some time within the last four hours when the nurses did their checks. The MP's had been notified. Garrison thanked them and left.

Once on the road Garrison began the trip back towards the estate. He drove slowly with one eye on the road and one on the country side. Unfortunately the man he searched for was very adept at not being seen. Goniff swore the man could hide in the middle of nowhere and still not be found.

After Garrison had covered a couple of miles he pulled to the side of the road. Under other circumstances he would have been angry but this time he knew it was his fault. Maybe if he had persisted last night. Maybe if he had stopped Chief from leaving the room… Yeah, like that would have worked. He tried to tell himself that there was nothing he could have done but the guilt would not leave. He broke the kid now it was his responsibility to fix him. The trust, that Actor had pointed out to him, between Chief and himself might be irreparably damaged.

Damn! He thought. I'm only human. I make mistakes. I was tired and frustrated. Then he thought back to his instructors at West Point. A good leader was not human. He had no emotions to get in the way. He did not get tired. He did not get frustrated. He never took his feelings or pain out on his men. The moment he did he was not fit to command.

Yes, he had failed. Just what he needed was more guilt.

Stop! You have a job to do. One that could save a life. Chief's life. He could get pneumonia and die out here. If he was not found he would be listed as AWOL and shipped back to prison. Concentrate on the job at hand. Now where would Chief have gone. He had to assume he would head for the estate. That was as good a direction as any. He looked all around. There were no building or groves of trees for a good distance to obscure his view. The air was cool and there had been a heavy dew. By now the man would be cold and wet. Where would he have gone to get warm?


	4. Chapter 4

Honesty and Trust

**Chapter4**

About a mile away there was a barn. That would be a place to start. It took him about twenty minutes before he finally pulled up to the front. He found the door and went inside. He called but there was no answer. He didn't think he was armed but it was wise not to sneak up on this particular man. He climbed the ladder to the loft and called again. He was about to leave when he realized that there was loose straw piled up on top of the bales. He slowly made his way to the spot. He saw nothing at first then he spotted the blue of the hospital dressing gown buried in the straw. He called the man's name again. He didn't know if he was awake or not but he had to say something.

"Chief, I am sorry about yelling at you when I did. I was wrong. I was tired but that's no excuse. You were right about there being nothing I could do about it. Even so I still need to know if you are hurt so I can plan around it. It's not your fault if you get hurt. I just need to know. I'm also sorry about saying I had to treat you like a child. That was petty and un-called for. Please talk to me. We need to get this sorted out."

There was no response at first then slowly there was movement. A head appeared from under the robe and the young man sat up. He would not look at Garrison.

"How's your arm?" He decided to start with a neutral topic.

"Okay." He was cradling it in his lap.

"I broke my finger when I was in high school. I remember it being quite painful. When did you last have anything for the pain?"

"Didn't."

"The doctor didn't give you anything?"

"Didn't take it."

Garrison wanted to ask why not but was afraid to push. He hoped the silence would prompt an answer. It didn't.

"The hospital staff was worried about you when they couldn't find you. They called the MP's." The young man beside him had spent the time staring off across the loft. At the sound of MP's he suddenly turned to look Garrison in the eye. Fear was written clearly on his face. He started to get up. Without thinking Garrison put his hand on the man's arm. Chief snatched his arm away from Garrison's touch as if he had been burned. A snarl distorted his features.

"Chief, it's all right. Let me take you back and I'll tell the MP's it was a false alarm. You just went for a walk. It'll be okay."

The young man's features slowly relaxed to a look of suspicion.

"Come on." He held out his hand but it was ignored. Chief slowly rose and carefully made his way down to the ground floor. Garrison followed. Once Chief was settled in the jeep he started it up and headed to the hospital.

"Why did you leave?" Garrison asked in what he hoped was a neutral tone.

"Wanted some quiet so I could think," said Chief after a moments pause.

"What about?"

"What you said…. Whether I still had a place on the team…. Whether I still wanted one."

"Chief, about what I said. I was wrong to yell at you especially in front of the others. When we get back I will apologize to you in front of the others."

"About if I get hurt…."

"Yeah, I went over board on that too. I do need to know if you are hurt bad enough to affect the mission."

"I ain't ever told anybody. That's how you get killed. Predators are always looking for the sick and the weak."

"Is that how you see me? A predator. And the others?"

There was a long pause as he thought this over. "Everyone's a predator. Thinkin' that way has kept me alive. That's why I had to get away and think. It's easy when you think of everybody as the enemy. You don't have to decide.

You, I can't figure you out. You aren't like the others. You treated me the same as the other cons, least" his voice dropped, "until that night. I thought then I was wrong to trust you 'cept…. I thought about what you said.' He looked down and in a very small voice he continued. "You were right. I could'a got someone killed." He paused and looked Garrison in the eye. He expression was one of pain and confusion. "An now it's too late."

"I'm not sending you back. You're still on the team."

"The others won't take me back. I saw what they did."

Now it was Garrisons turn to be confused. "What did they do?"

"It's like a pack of dogs. You move in as the leader but you turn on one. They all turn on 'm and drive 'm out. Seen it happen. They won't take me back."

"That's not true. It was one of your team mates who pointed it out to me that I had been too hard and he was right."

Chief's head came up and he looked Garrison in the eye. He wanted to believe him, he saw no lies on the man's face.

"Chief, we are not dogs. We're people. We can forgive. I hope you will forgive me for turning on you."

"What about me not telling you?"

Garrison thought he understood what the young man was asking and decided to lighten the situation a bit. He smiled and said. "I forgive you for not telling me you were hurt if you forgive me for yelling at you. Deal?"

Chief continued to look the man in the eye then turned to look out across the landscape again. His face relaxed. "Deal"

"Come on let's get you back to the hospital."

Men in prison, where he had done a lot of growing up, had acted like dogs but Chief realized that on the outside and especially here on this team men weren't dogs. He was learning a whole new set of rules and the man who sat beside him was teaching him. Actor too. He had taken to watching them and trying to imitate them. They were his chance to be able to fit in on the outside. He knew he still had a lot of learning to do.


End file.
